In line with the current torrent of articles on the H.264 and Theora debate, I feel that is it unfair for the "pragmatists" to talk about Theora as if it is a stupid ideal that is useless to consumers. This article will focus on defining the terms of the debate used and make the case that Theora has a reason, if not a chance.

You're right (I assume, not being an expert in these things) that H.264 is technically superior right now, but I think it bears repeating that the nature of a standard demands an open, collaborative solution. Such standards are inherently more agile because everybody is focusing their energy on making their implementation the smoothest, the fastest, and the most user-friendly.

Theora may not be the best there is, but I'm confident it will be if it's made the standard.

As the author said (in a very roundabout way): we need only look at history and avoid most of this debate. The web itself is an excellent example of how open standards create ecosystems and marketplaces. Where would we be if we all settled for the proprietary superiority of HyperCard instead of Tim Berners-Lee's simple, open implementation of hypermedia?